Kiwi is a flowering plant, native to southern China and egg-shaped with a light green or golden flesh. It is a citrus and subtropical fruit, but it was harvested for the first time in Iran in the city of Neshtarood and this city was named the kiwi capital of Iran.

Health Benefits of Kiwi

Kiwi is full of nutrients like vitamin C, so that it is very useful for treating asthma. Because it makes it easier for asthmatic patients to breathe. kiwifruit consumption has long been thought to assist in the digestion of food proteins due to the presence of the proteolytic enzyme actinides. Kiwi also strengthens the immune system. This fruit lowers blood pressure and prevents blood clots in the arteries, in other words, it eliminates stroke from the body.

kiwi Fruit Cultivation

Cultivation of this crop consists of several stages:

Before planting

Depending on the hardness of the seeds soak them in lukewarm water at a temperature of 30-40 degrees Celsius for about 6 to 27 hours, preferably in a closed container so that the temperature does not change much. To prevent seed, rot the container water should be changed every 24 hours.

Note: We recommend using cold boiled water. It does not need to be soaked if the seed size is not large.

Sowing seeds

First, prepare a clean pot free of any contamination, fill the pot with soil, you can use rotten leaf soil + fine-grained sand. Moisten the soil of the pot, if the seed is small place it on the surface of the soil. But if it is large you should make a hole half a centimeter deep in the soil and dip the seed into the hole. Now press a little with your hand and cover it with soil.

Note: Do not mix soil with water in any way. You just need to moisturize it. The pot should be well drained, so drill a hole in the bottom with a sharp tool to remove excess water and moisture. We recommend using an ice cream container.

Now you need to create a greenhouse environment for your pot. All you need to do is cover the clean nylon over the pot and pull it around with an elastic, the light should pass easily through the nylon, so it gets wet and transpiration inside the nylon and does not need daily watering. But you should head to the pot every day and if it has lost its moisture, investigate the cause, sprinkle some water again with a sprinkler and close the nylon again.

 

Note: The temperature should be between 11 and 27 degrees Celsius. Try to not The wind reaches the pot; the light does not shine directly. In this case, you will see 72 hours of germination of your kiwi buds (note that this is an approximate time and some seeds germinate earlier and some even after 11 months).

After germination wait two or three leaves grows, then pierce the nylon to reduce moisture and then transfer it to a place with indirect sunlight and the right temperature.

Of course, propagation through seeds causes problems, the simplest method is to cut kiwi seedlings.

Kiwi production in Iran and its export

The production of kiwi in the Iran has been considered since 1968 and now, this fruit is cultivated every year in Golestan and provinces of Gilan Mazandaran and the amount of cultivation is increased. Among the susceptible areas for cultivating this fruit is a small part of the Caspian Sea coast, from Astara to Sari. Conditions such as temperature, humidity, altitude and rainfall, soil pH play an important role in growing this fruit. The soil in these areas is acidic or neutral, so they are very suitable for growing this fruit.

 

Annually more than 1.5 million tons of kiwifruit are produced in the world. Italy is the first producer of kiwi in the world followed by Chile and New Zealand, second and third, and finally Iran, with a production of 200,000 tons, the fourth largest producer of this fruit in the world.

Kiwi exportation in Iran

Unfortunately, despite the production of excess kiwifruit consumption in the Iran and having the fourth largest production in the world, the situation of Iran exports is due to lack of processing industries is in the eighth place after Italy, New Zealand, Chile, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands and France. The reason for this is the lack of proper processing and packaging industries in the country.

The countries importing kiwifruit from Iran include Iraq, Russia and Turkey. Iraq has the largest import of kiwifruit produced in Iran and Russia and Turkey are in the second and third places. The taste of kiwi produced in Iran is better than other countries and if the packaging standards are observed and the country’s transport capacity is increased, due to the low use of chemical pesticides and harvest time, it can occupy a good position in global markets.

Takeaway

We got familiar with kiwi and its properties. Put this fruit in the family food basket to not only strengthen the immune system, but also enjoy its pleasant taste. We hope that with the measures of the right solutions the conditions of production and export of this fruit in the Iran will improve and we will make its export one of the main poles of foreign exchange entering the country.